Some think credit cards are a necessity and they abuse them. In fact quite often they use them to support their lifestyle on a daily basis. Others use their credit cards wisely and are very careful when it comes to charging their purchases. Which category do you fall into?
To figure out the answer to that question, see how many of these credit card mistakes to avoid you answered yes to.
- Forgetting to pay your credit card payments on time.
- Only paying the minimum monthly payments.
- Using your credit cards to pay your rent and utility bills because you don?t have enough cash on hand.
- Paying balance transfer fees so that you can take advantage of a 0% credit card.
- Carrying more credit cards then a deck of playing cards.
- Shuffling money from one credit card to another to make your payments each month.
- Maxing out or exceeding the limit on your credit cards.
- Taking cash advances from your credit card even though the interest rates for that will be even more expensive.
- Never completely paying off your credit card balances.
- Ignoring calls from the credit card companies instead of speaking to them and asking for assistance in establishing a repayment plan with lower interest rates.
- Applying for new credit cards simply for the rewards program attached to it.
- Not paying attention to the rate of interest on your credit cards.
- Using your credit cards to pay for things that you really can?t afford, such as new furniture or a vacation.
- Not keeping track of your monthly purchases.
- Not taking advantage of the benefits that your credit cards offer such as fraud protection.
- Allowing other friends or family members to use your credit card for their own purchases.
Did you find yourself nodding your head and saying yes to any of the above points? All of them, or just a few?
If the above points describe the way you manage your credit cards then you could be headed for trouble. Instead of waiting until you hit rock bottom financially, stop and take a good long look at your situation and figure out what steps you need to take to remedy the situation.
Perhaps you need to find a way to consolidate all of your debt. Or perhaps you need to stop using your credit cards all together and learn how to live a cash only lifestyle while paying off your existing debt. The first step is to admit that you are in trouble. Then investigate your options and begin taking the steps necessary to get yourself out of trouble.
